The three left the peaceful herb field behind, the distant sway of Vern Willow Plantlet fading like the end of a dream. Kiaria still felt residual embarrassment pulsing through his chest. He wished–hoped, even prayed–that Diala and Princess wouldn't notice the Cupid Plant Vern hinted about.
But fate had never been on his side.
The moment the Cupid Plant's gentle pink glow peeked through a cluster of herbs, both girls froze.
Kiaria's heart cracked.
"No–no, no, no–don't go–" he whispered inside.
But the Cupid Plant was adorable. Almost round petals, soft bioluminescent glow, sweet fragrance, love shaped spade leaves… the kind of impossible charm that drew eyes like magnets.
Both girls walked toward it.
Kiaria stared helplessly. His back stiffened, his face burned, and all shyness and awkwardness stabbed him at the same time.
He opened his mouth to lie–something, anything–
Too late.
Two small shadows moved beneath the Cupid Plant.
Kiaria's eyes widened, but before he could warn them–
The protectors transformed.
Two ant-sized Ru tribe warriors suddenly shot up to human-size, their bodies snapping into place like unfolding bone plates. Two legs, two main arms, four shriveled auxiliary arms along the ribs, a head with hard chitin plates, twitching antennae, and four mandibles grinding in warning.
The moment Diala and Princess leaned toward the Cupid Plant, the Ru protectors seized them–twisting their arms behind their backs in a practiced, swift movement meant to restrain without overtly breaking the peace rules.
Kiaria didn't think–he flashed.
One moment he was behind them.
The next his hands closed around the Ru warriors' wrists, twisting them back with inhuman precision.
The bone joints of the Ru almost broken.
Kiaria's bloodline–Dragon Body, Immortal Realm–made physical combat effortless. The Ru protectors felt his overwhelming strength instantly and released the girls, attempting instead a coordinated kick to Kiaria's knee.
A mistake.
Kiaria stepped into the force, pivoted, and shoved both Ru protectors backward–hard enough to send them skidding toward the Cupid Plant itself.
Luckily, didn't fell on the plant.
Only when they staggered did Kiaria step back beside Diala and Princess, shielding both behind his presence.
His tone turned ice-cold.
"Why did you attack us in this peaceful land? What offense did we commit?"
The Ru protectors hissed, mandibles scraping.
"Your kind tried to steal Cupid Plant. We are assigned to protect it. Are you blind?"
Kiaria's gaze sharpened like a blade.
"Really? On what basis do you claim that? If you cannot convince me, then peace contract or not–"
His eyes flicked to the Cupid Plant.
"I will destroy it. Can you prevent that?"
Diala and Princess froze.
They had never seen Kiaria switch to malicious intent so swiftly–not like this.
I heard, he almost destroyed Grassland's sanctum headquarters in rage just for them hurting her. First time seeing directly. Too potent intent! Princess remembered.
The Ru warriors shuddered and took a step back.
"YOU DARE!"
Kiaria rose slightly from the ground. His monochrome-white gaze ignited.
"WANNA SEE?"
The words fell cold and quiet, but their meaning thundered through the hearts of the Ru protectors.
Threat.
The deliberate kind that forces a clan to choose between submission or annihilation.
The Ru Tribe stiffened. Their knees buckled. Their instincts–the ones inherited from countless generations–told them this boy meant every word.
They backed away.
But as Kiaria and the girls walked away, the Ru Tribe flicked two talisman slips–a faint green pulse marking the trio secretly.
Ru Jin, one of the protectors, shrank down to ant-size and sprinted toward the Ru settlement. He burst into the chamber of the Ru Chief, Ru Winglu–a tall Ru with four translucent wings, golden rune lines across his white chitin, and a presence that carried the brute physicality of body-refining Monarch beasts.
Ru Jin bowed. "Chief! Humans trespassed right-field region. They humiliated us. They faced no punishment. They head toward Rulii Chop Land. If we gather now, we can avenge our lost families and pride!"
"How long ago?" Ru Winglu asked, voice echoing from his bone cavity.
"Fifteen minutes."
"Good. Prepare all warriors." Ru Winglu stood, mandibles clenching. "Today–we hunt."
Ru warriors roared. Aligned in separate packs based on ranks of battalion.
Three battalions left in tribe to protect women and children in tribe. All others set out to trap Humans.
–
Kiaria felt on edge.
Something in the air prickled against his skin, brushing the edge of danger.
Diala and Princess walked ahead–laughing, still whispering about the Cupid Plant and Kiaria's rage.
"Lucky girl, do you know at sanctum he almost destroyed headquarters completely. I heard you were attacked and you fainted there. Or else you would see even more his terrific side." Princess murmured to her.
Kiaria stopped.
On the dry land, near faint drag marks, his senses flared.
Footprints.
Small.
Too many.
And–
Wingbeats.
He closed his eyes and used enhanced hearing with Fairy Nature Essence.
Flap… flap… flap…
Close. Too close.
Before he could speak–
Silence fell.
Kiaria snapped back to awareness.
Diala and Princess were gone.
Taken.
His muscles locked in fury.
Far ahead, inside a cavern hidden behind tall boulders, Diala and Princess were lifted off the ground–Ru Jin gripping their faces harshly, covering their mouths.
Ru mandibles clicked.
"You lowly creatures. How dare you trespass our land. You die today." Ru Jin tightened his grip.
The Ru tribe believed they had created a distraction. That Kiaria was too late. Those two women in their hands made him helpless.
They did not know about Evil Spider.
Or Kiaria's senses.
Or what Kiaria had become.
Kiaria closed his eyes–calmed down.
Then–
Concentrated senses only towards hearing. Flapping of wings.
He opened his eyes. Motion speed reduced under the field of his monochrome vision. "There thay are."
Kiaria moved silently toward the cave entrance.
Ru guards patrolled outside, scanning the air, unaware.
He did not attack them.
He summoned Evil Spider.
It melted out of the relic in small form–white, soft, tiny–then expanded into a shadow that slipped past the guards without stirring a pebble.
Outside the cave, he woven a grand chair of web in midair–soft, throne-like, inviting.
Kiaria sat upon it outside, cold gaze fixed forward.
His seventh sense opened like a pale horizon.
The world inside the cave turned monochrome-white in his vision. He saw everything through spiritual outlines–the Ru tribe gripping the girls' faces, the fear on Diala's eyes, the anger boiling in Princess's heart.
His rage simmered.
His voice carried through spiritual link.
"You do not touch their tribe's Head and right hand. The rest… are yours."
A whisper from the other side.
"Yes, Master."
The air inside the cave cooled.
Evil Spider entered silently.
The moment its eight shadowed legs touched the cave floor–
Darkness breathed.
Ru tribe members felt their minds shiver.
Cold crawled under their carapace.
Their grips weakened.
In a blink–
Diala and Princess vanished from Ru Jin's hands.
They reappeared outside, near Kiaria, resting on chairs woven from white web–soft, comfortable, harmless.
The spider blocked the cave exit with dense threads–locking the Ru tribe inside with him.
Kiaria shared his seventh-sense vision with Diala and Princess.
Both gasped softly.
Colors of spiritual energy flowed through their sight–cores glowing, energies pulsing, lines tracing life.
But they had no time to admire.
Inside the cave–
A white mist spread.
Evil Spider expanded.
Legs elongated. Abdomen grew.
The skull-faces beneath its translucent skin stirred–tiny souls screaming without sound. Enormous prison dace with grid eyes fell on them.
"G–GHOST PRISON SP–SPIDER!" the Ru warriors cried.
Panic erupted.
Even Chief Ru Winglu trembled.
What madness brought this beast here?! Why? Why us?! But no–
"Together we strike, we are not weak! Surround! Scatter and attack! Kill it before it kills us!" Ru Winglu roared.
His roar was drowned instantly. "Evil Spider, what brought you here? Whatever it is, we can talk?" Chief said politely in negotiate compromising tone.
Evil Spider bent forward slightly.
Its voice cracked the cave walls.
"TALK?"
A hissed laugh.
"You had your chance. Now you are doomed."
Ru Winglu attempted negotiation.
"We have two humans! Take them! Let us live!"
"Idiots," Evil Spider spat. "Do you know who you touched? None of you leave alive."
Ghost Prison Domain erupted.
Webs sprouted from every crevice.
The air turned cold.
The domain sealed the cave like a tomb.
Winglu roared, "TREASON! Betraying beast rules! Fight! Scatter and strike! Break its legs! Slay it and serve its head to Beast Gods!"
The moment the Ru tribe charged–
Evil Spider moved faster.
Kiaria's order triggered fully.
In a blink, Evil Spider snatched Ru Jin and Winglu–webbing both instantly and sealing their mandibles shut.
The remaining Ru warriors attacked with insane strength–each punch able to break bones of ancient beasts.
One slammed into Evil Spider's chest.
Its body flew upward–impact echoing through the cave.
Ru Hun roared, "Scared?"
Evil Spider laughed as it landed from the air.
"No. The real dance begins now."
Its abdomen pulsed.
Eyes glowed.
Skulls shook violently beneath its skin.
"My stomach has space for more skulls."
The Ru tribe froze for a heartbeat.
Then everything erupted into motion.
The real fight–
one Kiaria wanted to witness–
was about to begin.